Jump Rope Conditioning

would jump rope (reg and/or double unders) be sufficient conditioning alongside 531? I would like to add this to my weekly routine, possibly rotating it in place of hill sprints or 40 yd dashes. any input would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!

The determination on what is and is not sufficient conditioning is highly dependent on where/what you need conditioning in/for. For you, jump rope may be sufficient, or it may be completely inadequate.

As an example: I’m a strongman recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery. For me, jumping rope would not be sufficient, as it would re-aggravate my injury, and wouldn’t contribute anything to my strongman training. This means that my conditioning is pulling a prowler arm over arm with some very light uphill pushes. Other people may need to perform some slam ball slams to improve their explosiveness, or run hills, or hit a tire with a sledgehammer, etc etc.

thanks for the reply, my conditioning goal would be overall general fitness and stamina/endurance. i dont have access to prowler, and sprints (altho i love them) take a toll on my hamstrings.

[quote]kidglitter wrote:
thanks for the reply, my conditioning goal would be overall general fitness and stamina/endurance. i dont have access to prowler, and sprints (altho i love them) take a toll on my hamstrings.[/quote]

I think that rope skipping - expecially once you get decent at it and can do things like sprinting in place etc. -is awesome but it can be very hard on your ankles if you overdo it. A plan that Ross Enamait put together goes like this:

  • five minutes of skipping, one minute rest
  • 5x one minute sprinting in place, 30sec. rest
  • 5x 30sec. sprinting in place, 15sec. rest

Again, your ankles will be the weak link.

pre 531 i would do 30sec double unders with 60 seconds of rest for 20 minutes, as well as 20 minutes of sprinting or a bodyweight crossfit WoD for my cardio/conditioning days. having started 531 a few weeks ago ive dialed back my conditioning to zero in order acclimate to the new training structure/workouts. so basically now im looking to incorporate conditioning excercises to help increase endurance in the 531 program, jump rope being one of them.

[quote]kidglitter wrote:
pre 531 i would do 30sec double unders with 60 seconds of rest for 20 minutes, as well as 20 minutes of sprinting or a bodyweight crossfit WoD for my cardio/conditioning days. having started 531 a few weeks ago ive dialed back my conditioning to zero in order acclimate to the new training structure/workouts. so basically now im looking to incorporate conditioning excercises to help increase endurance in the 531 program, jump rope being one of them.[/quote]

You can do this except Crossfit teaches conditioning all wrong - they are idiots about it. So incorporate the jump rope but be smart about it. I just wrote an article about this and it will change the way you condition. Or it should, anyway.

thanks for the reply jim, and everyone else. this site is fucking gold, the community and information here are contributing greatly to my progress. could you point me in the direction of that conditioning article? I’m looking for it, cant seem to find it…
thanks!